How Tom Ackerley And Margot Robbie Are Becoming Hollywood’s New Power Couple (Despite Tom Shunning The Limelight)

When Margot Robbie arrived at the London premiere of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood last week, in a striking burnt orange gown by Oscar de la Renta, and took her place between co-stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, it was proof – if anyone needed it – that she has secured her place as one of Hollywood’s most powerful leading ladies. Quentin Tarantino, the director of this year’s most hotly anticipated film, had said that Robbie was his first and only choice to play Sharon Tate – and help tell the story of the actor and model who was murdered in 1969 by supporters of cult leader Charles Manson. Margot and Leo have been on an extensive promotional tour for the film – but they’ve been playing hard too. They partied until the early hours at the premiere after-party last week.

It would have been a very different experience from the nightlife Margot was used to when she lived in London, in 2017: she’s famously recalled frequenting Clapham’s sticky-floored club Infernos when she lived in a three-bedroom house share nearby, with her now-husband Tom Ackerley. The pair met in 2013 on the set of wartime drama Suite Francaise, in which Margot, then an up-and-comer, had a supporting role. Tom was one of the assistant directors. They became friends – with Margot suggesting they live together and create production company Lucky Chap, specifically to tell female-focused stories.

Margot and Tom eventually married on Australia’s Gold Coast in December 2016 and they now live in California and co-run the production company. But despite their Hollywood setting, at home with Margot there’s a firm lack of glamour. The couple set strict boundaries to ensure theirs is a normal marriage – and life. A friend of the pair recalls dinners and nights out with them in their London days, ‘There was an understanding that we didn’t ask Margot about the actors she was working with or the celebs she’d been hanging out with,’ they tell Grazia. ‘She didn’t want to be the focus of attention when she was off-duty and always seemed to keep her ego in check, but I also think she was doing it for Tom.’

That desire to separate their work from real life is why Tom is often noticeably absent on big nights like premieres and awards ceremonies. Margot usually attends these solo, with Tom generally stepping in only when he has been involved in the film. ‘She’s fearful about their relationship turning into a circus, and fights to protect him from that,’ the source adds. ‘Tom doesn’t really like the attention, and Margot is very cautious: she would rather face fame alone than entangle Tom in it.’

A friend of the couple during their London days thinks they were perfect for each other thanks to Margot’s ‘incredibly laid-back approach’ to stardom. ‘She seemed like the most un-Hollywood person,’ the insider continues. ‘They’re very playful and sweary and tease each other a lot. But that comes from trust and being completely comfortable with each other: I think working in the same industry meant that they find it easy to cut through all the crap.'

Indeed, Margot and Tom still work together at their production company. They are, among other things, behind a TV drama that retells Shakespeare from a female perspective, while Birds Of Prey – a sequel-of-sorts to Margot’s super-villain film Suicide Squad – shifts focus to the women of the comic book franchise. Margot, a source close to the pair tells Grazia, ‘refers to Tom as her “silent partner” in her success, because he has been such an integral part of it’. Tom worked ceaselessly on I, Tonya – the 2017 lm which saw Margot nominated for an Oscar – saying that ‘Everything from the shoot to the edit to the distribution went at 100 miles per hour with that film.’

But working together isn’t always easy. ‘Tom’s jumped from being an assistant director to a Hollywood movie producer, and worries that he’s lucked out thanks to Margot’s fame.’ Margot, however, regularly assures him of how vital he is to the operation. ‘Margot wouldn’t have it any other way,’ the source adds. ‘She feels she wouldn’t have her success if it wasn’t for Tom championing her.’

In the past, Margot has been open about her wedded bliss. ‘Being married is actually the most fun ever,’ she says. ‘Life got way more fun somehow.’ That, though, is thanks to hard work. First, they don’t let their schedules get in the way of face-time. ‘Even if we both have to fly to a country in-between where we both are for one night, we’ll do it,’ Margot says, ‘And then fly back to work the next day. And we speak all day, every day, on the phone.’

Escaping LA is important. They also make sure to get out of Hollywood when they can, and this year have taken trips to Lapland and the Caribbean. Tom is also a believer in small but effective gestures. ‘One time I came home after being away and he’d filled the entire freezer with all my favourite ice cream,’ Margot has said. ‘I was like, “You know me, inside and out.” It was the most romantic thing. It’s the way to my heart.'